01 - Ritva's Cities III

Big mega cities seem vulnerable because too many buildings are crammed together. There could be domino effect one starts to collapse and takes with it the next one and next one.

Strong red and orange torn papers could be flames, foreground buildings are in fire or they could symbolize the heating needed for mega cities. Nightmare vision against tender sweet sunset in big contrast. Other colours black, brown, purple and blue against geometrical lines of buildings.
You can't see any people, but there is one desperate man who represent all the people in the city, who feels trapped in the cage.

I have names of my favourite films Vertigo and Saboteur by Hitchcock: and The Third Man by Carol Reed instead of slogans by advertisement.

Big cities are like labyrinths, big puzzles, hard to go around, busy streets, fast cars, difficult to cross over. Towers, roads with cars create beautiful red and white curvy lines. The head in the middle 'Scream' tells about the anguish of the never sleeping city. The owl observes.
To soften the dark message there is a beautiful sunset, suggesting 'Tomorrow is another day'.

Names of my favourite films North by North West by Hitchcock, High Noon by Fred Zinneman. Casablanca by Michael Curtiz, The French Connection by William Friedkin. instead of slogans by advertisement.

Silhouettes of far away cities and nearby. Busy streets leave on red line of rear lights. Harbour with a busy station. Endless number of skyscrapers. Chinese Texts. A clown in one corner and anxious figures on the other side

I find that many skyscrapers actually resemble mushrooms in form. Mushrooms symbolise the constant rapid growth of metropolises, the way skylines change almost daily, like the speed in which mushrooms grow after the rain.

Farewell my lovely, the film noir adaptation of the Raymond Chandler thriller featuring private eye Philip Marlowe lends its title to this artwork. I like to think my artworks hold twists and turns just like in Chandler’s books. A curious couple is watching other seated couples from an agonizing distance, seemingly desiring to join them yet unable to, lost in the maze of buildings.

The busy central street reminds me of a heaving Indian city with the Imperial style building to the right. The composition is packed full of structures emitting a reddish warmth over everything. Six rooms are named Art, Love, Hope, Joy, Anger & Fear amid a brooding scene around dusk.

Carnival could be another title. There is a smiling clown on the right hand. St Mark's Basilica towers the picture. Slogans Desire - Passion - Agony tend to be part of a carnival where anything can happen.

Looking down from the top of a skyscraper can make you dizzy at the very least – here the viewer experiences a sharp elevated view, looking down into the bustling city. Snippets of text populate the scene, symbolizing advertising agency slogans, like in other works in the series. The inverted clock in the skies, like a satellite, symbolises the ever-watching eye in today’s world.

The picture seems to have everything from tall skyscrapers to blocks of flats, from desert in the Middle East to people walking in the streets, from a bridge over a river to green trees, all in harmonious mix.

Luxurious baths in the Orient surrounded by towers, ancient walls, Roman columns and a holy temple, guarded by two Penguins.
I have always been fascinated by ancient ruins, temples, columns, towers. either Roman or Asian. The patina of age. The colours, the various shades of brown, beige. It gives perspective to today's life. Nothing lasts forever.

It makes me sad to think of the many megalopolises that have been & gone throughout time. Babylon pays homage to this through a fantastical construction of worldwide ancient wonders, religious buildings & castles.